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Wednesday, October 8, 2025

Category: Immigration
May 8, 2025
Immigration
UK

Farage Slams Labour for ‘Betraying British Workers’ in India Trade Deal.

PULSE POINTS:

❓What Happened: Nigel Farage has slammed the new trade deal between Britain and India, accusing the ruling Labour Party of betraying British workers.

👥 Who’s Involved: Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Reform Party leader Nigel Farage, former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, and John O’Connell of the TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA).

📍 Where & When: The trade deal was agreed upon in London and Delhi on May 6.

💬 Key Quote: Nigel Farage stated, “This Government doesn’t give a damn about working people.”

⚠️ Impact: The deal may make it cheaper for companies to hire Indian migrants over British natives, sparking criticism and concerns over increased migration.

IN FULL:

A new trade agreement between the United Kingdom and India has sparked controversy, with Reform Party leader Nigel Farage accusing the Labour government under Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer of betraying the British working class. The agreement, described as the largest post-Brexit trade deal yet, aims to boost bilateral trade by $33.3 billion and potentially add $6.3 billion to British GDP annually. It includes significant tariff reductions on British exports like cars and whisky, while also lowering import taxes on Indian goods such as textiles and seafood.

However, Farage has criticized immigration elements in the deal, as it will make it roughly 20 percent cheaper for companies to employ Indian migrants rather than British workers, citing recent increases in National Insurance payments for British companies. “This Government doesn’t give a damn about working people,” Farage said.

Prime Minister Starmer has hailed the deal, claiming it will improve living standards and strengthen Anglo-Indian ties. However, critics have raised concerns over migration concessions included in the agreement. The deal allows Indian chefs, musicians, and yogis access to the United Kingdom’s contractual services visa route, which was previously restricted. More controversially, a “double contribution convention” exempts some Indian migrant workers from paying National Insurance contributions for three years. This also applies to British workers in India—but migration in this direction is negligible.

“The Labour Party have this time in a big, big way betrayed working Britain, and that’s why many people voted for us last Thursday, but for some reason the Government just doesn’t seem to understand,” Farage said, referencing Reform’s significant gains in last week’s municipal elections.

Indian-heritage former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, of the Conservative Party, echoed these concerns, noting her previous opposition to similar visa concessions. John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, added that taxpayers would be outraged by the exemptions granted to Indian workers while British workers face higher taxes.

Image by Gage Skidmore.

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May 7, 2025
Immigration
News

Cost of Housing Migrants Set to Triple.

PULSE POINTS:

❓What Happened: The cost of accommodating asylum seekers in the United Kingdom is now projected to be $20.3 billion, triple the initial $6 billion estimate by the Home Office.

👥 Who’s Involved: The British government, the National Audit Office (NAO), Serco, Mears, Clearsprings, and Britain’s Home Office.

📍 Where & When: United Kingdom, contracts signed in 2019.

💬 Key Quote: A Home Office spokesman blamed the prior Conservative (Tory) government for “disastrous contracts that were wasting millions in taxpayer money.”

⚠️ Impact: Rising costs are attributed to an increase in asylum seekers housed in hotels, with significant profits for private providers and ongoing challenges for the government.

IN FULL:

According to a report by Britain’s National Audit Office (NAO), the financial burden on taxpayers for accommodating asylum seekers is now expected to reach the equivalent of $20.3 billion. This figure is a significant increase from the $6 billion initially projected by the Home Office—roughly equivalent to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—when contracts were signed in 2019.

The NAO report highlights that the rising costs are largely driven by the increased number of asylum seekers in hotels. The number of asylum seekers in hotels rose from approximately 47,000 in December 2019 to an anticipated 110,000 by December 2024. Despite hotels accommodating around a third of the asylum seekers, they consume three-quarters of the budget for accommodation.

Contracts were originally signed with three private companies—Serco, Mears, and Clearsprings—to manage asylum accommodation. Between September 2019 and August 2024, these companies reportedly made a combined profit of $511 million. Clearsprings, in particular, saw its contract in the south of England balloon from $0.9 billion to an expected $9.3 billion.

The Home Office, now under the control of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party, has faced criticism for its handling of the situation. A spokesman pointed fingers at the previous Conservative government for what they termed “disastrous contracts,” which have led to a significant waste of taxpayer money.

A senior Home Office source attributed the rising accommodation costs to the increase in people crossing the English Channel on small boats, a situation exacerbated by people-smuggling gangs. Despite the surge of migrants crossing the English Channel in recent years, and the migrants plainly not being in danger in France and the other Western European countries they launch from, a report from last year indicated very few have been deported. For instance, as little as 0.5 percent of those who entered illegally in 2023 were ever deported.

Image by Alisdare Hickson.

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May 7, 2025
Crime
Immigration

Alcatraz Just One of Many Facilities Trump Admin Is Reactivating, Mostly to Detain Illegals.

PULSE POINTS:

❓What Happened: President Donald J. Trump’s eye-catching proposal to reopen Alcatraz prison is being backed by action to reopen a number of other facilities across the U.S., mostly to detain illegal aliens.

👥 Who’s Involved: President Trump, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), CoreCivic, Geo Group, California Democrats, illegal aliens.

📍 Where & When: Alcatraz Island, California, and other locations such as Michigan, New Jersey, and Kansas; recent months.

💬 Key Quote: “We don’t want ICE to expand their ability to cage our community members,” complained Susan Beaty, senior attorney for the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice.

⚠️ Impact: Potential increase in immigration detentions.

IN FULL:

President Donald J. Trump’s recent suggestion to reopen Alcatraz, the historical prison in San Francisco Bay, California, has caused a stir. It is part of a broader initiative by the administration to repurpose several closed detention facilities across the United States, mostly for the purpose of detaining illegal aliens.

While California lawmakers have tried to dismiss the Alcatraz proposal as a diversion, efforts to reopen other facilities are progressing, often in collaboration with private prison companies. The Trump administration has been actively working to reactivate at least five other detention centers and prisons to house immigration detainees. Meanwhile, the Alcatraz proposal would see “America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders” confined on the island prison, according to Trump.

In California, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is exploring reopening the California City Correctional Facility, which at one point housed over 2,000 people, and the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Dublin. Local activists such as Susan Beaty, of the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice, are rattled by the moves to expand detention facilities in the Golden State, saying, “When there are fewer beds for ICE to incarcerate people, there are fewer arrests and less enforcement. We don’t want ICE to expand their ability to cage our community members, because we know that will lead to more incarceration and allow them to terrorize our communities even further.”

Elsewhere, the Geo Group is reopening the North Lake Correctional Facility in Michigan, potentially becoming the Midwest’s largest immigration detention center. In New Jersey, the Delaney Hall facility in Newark has also reopened for immigration detainees amid legal challenges from the city government. In Kansas, CoreCivic is working to reopen a detention center in Leavenworth.

The Trump administration’s push to utilize these shuttered facilities underscores its commitment to mass deportations. However, illegals are now being given the opportunity to use the CBP One app—which Joe Biden used to parole migrants into the U.S. en masse—to self-deport with a $1,000 stipend, avoiding detention and forcible removal.

Image by Christopher Michel.

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May 6, 2025
Immigration
Media

DHS Condemns D.C. Media for Alerting Public, Migrants to ICE Raids.

PULSE POINTS:

❓What Happened: A pro-migration reporter warned illegal aliens in Washington, D.C., about upcoming U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) workplace inspections.

👥 Who’s Involved: Pablo Manriquez, founder of MigrantInsider.com, and Tricia McLaughlin, spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security.

📍 Where & When: Washington D.C., inspections scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.

💬 Key Quote: “It is sickening that this ‘reporter’ is putting law enforcement lives at risk,” said Tricia McLaughlin.

⚠️ Impact: Potential risks to law enforcement and heightened awareness of ICE activities among illegals in D.C.

IN FULL:

Illegal aliens in Washington, D.C., have been alerted to upcoming U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) inspections at various workplaces, via Pablo Manriquez, founder of MigrantInsider.com. Manriquez, a Chilean-born pro-migration advocate, shared that sources informed him of planned ICE checks at Subway restaurants and among Door Dash and Uber Eats drivers, among others, on Tuesday and Wednesday.

This information leak has drawn criticism from Tricia McLaughlin, spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ICE’s parent agency. McLaughlin expressed concern over the potential danger posed to law enforcement, stating, “It is sickening that this ‘reporter’ is putting law enforcement lives at risk and doing the bidding of violent criminal aliens and gang members.”

Manriquez elaborated on the planned operations, indicating that ICE agents would conduct I-9 employment eligibility document inspections and position officers at the back of restaurants to intercept those attempting to flee. He also mentioned that bilingual public charter schools, including the Mundo Verde public charter school system, would be targeted.

In response to the anticipated raids, Manriquez urged migrants to be aware of their rights and advised them to contact the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights if detained. He encouraged sharing the information widely and announced that further updates would be available on MigrantInsider.com.

Manriquez, who describes himself as an immigrant outsider, has previously written in support of figures like the late Democratic Rep. Raul Grijalva, whom he praised as a “voice of migrants, workers, Tribes, Latinos.” However, his recent actions have aligned him with insider elites, including corporate lawyers at Acacia, who offer legal aid to migrants.

This is not the first time illegals have been alerted to ICE raids and operations before they occur. In California, ICE planned an operation targeting known gang members and criminals in Los Angeles, but plans were leaked ahead of time. Border Czar Tom Homan blamed Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) personnel, who were also involved in the operation, and noted in February that a criminal investigation had been launched.

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May 6, 2025
Wake Up Right
Immigration

Trump Offers Stipend to Illegals Who Self-Deport.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is offering free flights and a $1,000 stipend to illegal aliens who voluntarily leave the U.S. — a self-deportation program the agency says costs far less than traditional deportation.

The details: The program requires illegal aliens to register for self-deportation through the CBP Home App, and they only receive their stipend once it is verified that they have returned to their home country.

  • President Trump told the press: “We’re gonna get them a beautiful flight back to where they came from.”

Cost savings: DHS says it currently costs the American taxpayer over $17,000 to arrest, detain, and deport a single illegal alien. Under this new, self-deportation program, it costs around $4,500—a 70 percent savings.

  • White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller added on X: “The savings are as much as $1 million per illegal alien family given the long-term costs of free welfare and public support.”

What the left is saying: Pro-illegal groups are denouncing the plan and urging illegals to reject the offer. One activist, Aaron Reichlin, said: “This option might be WORSE… it would abandon clear options for staying.”

Zoom out: The plan is reminiscent of Trump’s effort to reduce the federal workforce by offering buyouts to government workers who voluntarily resigned, ultimately leading to 77,000 resignations. Pay a little up-front for long-term savings.

The last word goes to President Trump, who warned that those who do not take this offer “are going to be taken out of our country… And they will never get a path to come back in.”

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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is offering free flights and a $1,000 stipend to illegal aliens who voluntarily leave the U.S. — a self-deportation program the agency says costs far less than traditional deportation. show more
May 5, 2025
Crime
Immigration

Tren de Aragua Gang Clashes with NYPD in Times Square Brawl.

PULSE POINTS:

❓What Happened: A group of gang members attacked New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers in Times Square after a boxing match, marking the second such incident involving migrants in the area in under two years.

👥 Who’s Involved: Members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and its offshoot, Diablos de la 42, including a 12-year-old ringleader, were involved. NYPD officers were attacked.

📍 Where & When: The incident occurred in Times Square, New York City, following a boxing match on Friday night.

💬 Key Quote: “Is this what a sanctuary city is supposed to be?” questioned a frustrated officer, highlighting the challenges posed by Democrat policies.

⚠️ Impact: The attack raises concerns about public safety and the policies governing sanctuary cities, with several young gang members already linked to previous crimes.

IN FULL:

In a brazen attack captured on video, members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and its offshoot, Diablos de la 42, targeted New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers in Times Square following a Friday night boxing match. The altercation unfolded as officers attempted to stop the gang members from robbing two young people.

A 12-year-old illegal immigrant is believed to be the ringleader of the robbery ring. The three suspects were apprehended by police on Sunday and are believed to be responsible for several other robberies that have occurred in Central Park. Notably, the suspects were living at Manhattan’s Row Hotel, one of many sites housing illegal immigrant asylum seekers at public expense.

While New York City Mayor Eric Adams has pledged to close a number of hotels being used to house illegal immigrants, the arrest of the three illegal immigrants for the Times Square assault on police and robberies has reignited the debate over the shelters and the city’s sanctuary status. A frustrated officer questioned, “Is this what a sanctuary city is supposed to be?”

An NYPD spokesman confirmed that two migrants, aged 16 and 17, face charges including obstructing governmental administration and assault on a police officer. The 12-year-old was released pending a family court hearing, while investigations continue into other gang members involved in the attack.

This latest incident adds to the growing strain on New York City’s resources, as the influx of migrants over the U.S. border since 2022—now stemmed by the Trump administration—has introduced a new wave of criminal elements. The NYPD is grappling with the challenges posed by these migrants, trying to maintain order in a city where Democrats long prided themselves on offering “sanctuary” to illegal aliens.

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May 2, 2025
Immigration
Lawfare

Trump Admin Seeks Supreme Court Decision Allowing Deportation of 350K Venezuelans.

PULSE POINTS:

❓What Happened: The Trump administration requested the Supreme Court allow its attempt to end a Joe Biden-era immigration program protecting Venezuelan nationals from deportation.

👥 Who’s Involved: The key figures include U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and U.S. Senior District Court Judge Edward Chen.

📍 Where & When: The appeal was filed with the United States Supreme Court after a federal judge in March blocked the Trump administration’s revocation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for illegal immigrants from Venezuela.

💬 Key Quote: “The Secretary’s decision whether to designate, extend, or terminate TPS implicates sensitive judgments as to foreign policy and, in this case, the ‘national interest’—a discretionary determination that Congress expressly committed to her judgment,” wrote President Trump’s Solicitor General, John Sauer, in an emergency appeal filed with the high court.

⚠️ Impact: The decision could affect 348,202 Venezuelan nationals in the U.S., facilitating more deportations.

IN FULL:

The Trump administration has filed an emergency appeal with the United States Supreme Court asking it to overturn a lower court order barring Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem from ending the Joe Biden-era Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation granted to Venezuelan illegal immigrants residing in the United States. At the end of March this year, U.S. Senior District Court Judge Edward Chen issued an order preventing the Trump administration from ending the TPS designation, insisting revoking the protections would “inflict irreparable harm on hundreds of thousands of persons whose lives, families, and livelihoods will be severely disrupted, cost the United States billions in economic activity, and injure public health and safety in communities throughout the United States.”

“The Secretary’s decision whether to designate, extend, or terminate TPS implicates sensitive judgments as to foreign policy and, in this case, the ‘national interest’—a discretionary determination that Congress expressly committed to her judgment,” U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer wrote in the Trump administration appeal. He continued, referencing the District Court’s ruling: “The court contravened an express bar on judicial review, sidestepped black-letter law authorizing agencies to reverse as-yet-inoperative actions, and embraced a baseless equal-protection theory on the road to issuing impermissible universal relief that intrudes on central Executive Branch operations.”

“It’s order upsets the judgments of the political branches, prohibiting the Executive Branch from enforcing a time-sensitive immigration policy and indefinitely extending an immigration status that Congress intended to be ‘temporary,” Saur concluded.

Under former President Joe Biden, the TPS program was radically altered by the then-Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who originally arrived in the U.S. as a migrant. Congress initially intended the program to be narrow in scope, only granting a short period of protection to individuals who had been displaced by natural disasters or armed conflict. However, the Biden government implemented policy changes turning TPS into a de facto amnesty program.

At the end of January this year, Secretary Noem announced that the Department of Homeland Security was revoking an extension of TPS status for Venezuelans that Biden had enacted just before he left office. The move prompted a group of Venezuelan illegal immigrants to sue the Trump administration with the backing of the ACLU Foundation of Northern California, the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at UCLA School of Law, California, the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network

Image by Domenico Convertini.

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Migrant Crime
May 2, 2025
Jack Montgomery
Immigration
News

ICE Nets Over 1,100 Illegals in Biggest-Ever Single-State Operation.

PULSE POINTS:

❓What Happened: Operation Tidal Wave, a first-of-its-kind joint operation in Florida from April 21 to April 26, 2025, led to the arrest of 1,120 criminal illegal aliens, the largest single-state operation in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) history.

👥 Who’s Involved: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and multiple Florida sheriff’s offices.

📍 Where & When: Statewide operation across Florida, conducted from April 21 to April 26, 2025.

💬 Key Quote: “Florida is proud to work closely with the Trump administration and help deliver on the 2024 mandate from America that our borders be secured and our immigration laws be followed.” — Gov. Ron DeSantis.

⚠️ Impact: The operation underscores the Trump administration’s commitment to mass deportations, setting a model for federal-state collaboration to enhance public safety nationwide.

IN FULL:

In a historic crackdown on illegal immigration, Operation Tidal Wave swept through Florida from April 21 to April 26, 2025, resulting in the arrest of 1,120 illegal aliens—the largest single-state operation in ICE history. The first-of-its-kind partnership between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and Florida state agencies targeted violent offenders, gang members, and public safety threats, with 63 percent of those arrested having prior criminal arrests or convictions.

The operation apprehended 378 individuals with final orders of removal, including members of notorious gangs like MS-13, Tren de Aragua, Brown Pride Aztecas, Barrio Azteca, Surenos, and the 18th Street Gang. Among the arrests were active gang members like Luis Melito Gonzalez Arrellanno (Brown Pride Aztecas) and Aron Isaak Morazan Izaguirre (18th Street Gang), both with extensive criminal histories. The arrested individuals hailed primarily from Guatemala (437), Mexico (280), Honduras (153), Venezuela (48), and El Salvador (24), with 178 from other countries. Those with final orders or prior illegal reentries face immediate removal, while others await processing.

ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan praised the effort, stating, “Last week’s operational success of arresting more than 1,100 criminal illegal aliens was truly a collaborative whole-of-government effort by our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners in Florida.” She highlighted the daily risks officers take to remove dangerous criminals and restore integrity to the immigration system.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a key supporter of the operation, affirmed the state’s role, saying, “Florida is proud to work closely with the Trump administration and help deliver on the 2024 mandate from America that our borders be secured and our immigration laws be followed.” DeSantis added, “I’ve insisted that Florida be the tip of the spear when it comes to state support of federal immigration enforcement.”

Florida’s leadership in 287(g) partnerships, which delegate federal immigration enforcement to state and local officials, was instrumental, with significant assistance from sheriff’s offices in many counties. Miami Sector Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent Jeffrey Dinise emphasized the operation’s impact, stating, “Dangerous criminals have no place in our country. We will apply CBP’s collective intelligence and operational capabilities to target those here illegally who endanger our citizens and the American way of life.”

The landmark operation sets a powerful precedent for state authorities collaborating with federal authorities to assist the Trump administration’s immigration policies—something activist judges are trying to prevent.

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May 2, 2025
Crime
Immigration

Footage From 2022 Traffic Stop Suggests Deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia Was Involved in Human Trafficking.

PULSE POINTS:

❓ What Happened: Newly released bodycam footage shows a 2022 Tennessee traffic stop involving the recently deported Salvadoran illegal alien Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an alleged member of MS-13, where state highway patrol officers interrogated him over the large sum of money he had on his person, an invalid driver’s license, and the presence of eight other men crammed into his vehicle. The Trump administration cites the footage as additional evidence justifying its decision to remove Abrego Garcia from the United States.

👥 Who’s Involved: Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Tennessee Highway Patrol officers, the Trump White House, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

📍 Where & When: The traffic stop occurred in Tennessee on November 30, 2022, with the body camera footage being released late on May 1, 2025.

💬 Key Quote: “He’s hauling these people for money,” a state trooper is heard saying in the video.

⚠️ Impact: Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador in March, although a federal immigration judge had previously issued a ruling preventing him from being returned to his country of origin, specifically. Following the deportation, the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration should work to facilitate his return to the U.S., despite his alleged gang ties.

IN FULL:

Footage from a Tennessee traffic stop in 2022, released publicly this past Thursday, is being cited by the Trump administration as a basis for deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia. State troopers pulled Abrego Garcia over for speeding on November 30, 2022, and upon inspection, found eight additional passengers in a modified SUV with an unusual four-row seating arrangement.

During the stop, officers questioned Garcia about his possession of $1,400 in cash and an invalid Maryland driver’s license. A trooper remarked on the unusual seating arrangement and asked Abrego Garcia about the alterations to the vehicle. “How many rows have you got in here? Four seats? Four rows of seats?” a state trooper can be heard asking the Salvadoran national and accused member of the MS-13. The law enforcement officer continued: “Did y’all put an extra one in? Huh? Did y’all put another one in, no? They come like this? I’ve never seen one with that many seats in it.”

After additional questioning, another Tennessee state trooper can be heard telling his colleagues: “He’s hauling these people for money.”

Following the traffic stop and questioning, the Tennessee state troopers entered Abrego Garcia’s name into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) index and saw he was flagged as potentially being a gang member. Abrego Garcia said the SUV belonged to his “boss,” Jose Ramon Hernandez Reyes, another Salvadoran illegal who had been convicted of human trafficking in 2020.

The state troopers contacted ICE to notify the immigration enforcement agency of their encounter with Abrego Garcia. However, sources close to Tennessee state law enforcement state that ICE never arrived, allowing the alleged gang member to slip away.

The National Pulse previously reported that Abrego Garcia was the subject of a 2021 protective order filed in Maryland by his wife, Jennifer Vasquez, due to multiple alleged incidents of domestic violence. Despite the preponderance of evidence indicating that the Salvadoran illegal immigrant is affiliated with the violent MS-13 gang and has previously engaged in other acts of criminality, Congressional Democrats have tried to use Abrego Garcia’s removal from the U.S. as a platform to criticize President Trump’s deportation efforts, even traveling to El Salvador to visit him.

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May 1, 2025
Crime
Immigration

Ex-Judge and Wife Accused of Harboring Foreign Gang Member Released on Bond.

PULSE POINTS:

❓What Happened: A former judge from New Mexico and his spouse were released on bond after being arrested for allegedly sheltering a Venezuelan gang member and tampering with evidence.

👥 Who’s Involved: Former Doña Ana County Magistrate Judge Joel Cano, his wife Nancy Cano, and Cristhian Ortega-Lopez, an alleged member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

📍 Where & When: Las Cruces, New Mexico; arrested in April and released on bond this past Tuesday.

💬 Key Quote: “Jose Cano stated that he destroyed [a] cellphone and further admitted that he believed the cellphone contained photos or videos that would reflect negatively on Ortega,” a federal criminal complaint states.

⚠️ Impact: Joel and Nancy Cano face potential prison sentences of up to 15 years if convicted; Joel Cano has resigned from his judicial position and is permanently barred from holding any judicial office in New Mexico.

IN FULL:

A former judge from New Mexico, Joel Cano, along with his wife, Nancy Cano, has been released on $10,000 bonds after facing charges of tampering with evidence and allegedly harboring a Venezuelan gang member, following a federal raid on their residence. The couple was apprehended in Las Cruces, New Mexico, after Homeland Security Investigations got a tip-off in January 2025 concerning Cristhian Ortega-Lopez. Ortega-Lopez is an alleged member of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang designated as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO).

Court records detail that Nancy Cano initially hired Ortega for projects around the house, later offering him accommodation in a guesthouse. Ortega reportedly entered the United States in 2023, climbing over a barbed wire fence. He now faces charges related to illegal firearm possession.

Federal agents searched the Canos’ home on April 24, aiming to locate a missing cellphone belonging to Ortega. During an inquiry, Joel Cano admitted to destroying the device with a hammer and disposing of it. “Specifically, Jose Cano stated that he destroyed the cellphone and further admitted that he believed the cellphone contained photos or videos that would reflect negatively on Ortega,” a federal criminal complaint states. “Through further questioning, agents ascertained that Jose Cano destroyed the cellphone, believing that it contained photographs of Ortega holding firearms that Ortega had uploaded onto social media platforms which would be additional incriminating evidence against him.”

Other devices retrieved from Ortega allegedly suggest affiliations with Tren de Aragua and depict him with weaponry.

Joel Cano resigned from his role as a magistrate judge in March. Subsequently, the New Mexico Supreme Court barred him from holding any judicial office within the state. The charges against the Canos could result in 15-year prison sentences if they are found guilty.

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